Unseen

Chapter 7

"Hey, kiddo, how was school?" I look up from my math homework to see my dad standing in my doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Okay," I say with a shrug before I return my focus to my work.

"What happened?" I hear him move further into my bedroom and sit down on the edge of my bed, so I sigh and turn in my desk chair to face him, knowing he won't go away without an explanation.

"Maddie outed Flynn in front of the whole school this morning," I whisper and his eyebrows draw together in confusion.

"She outed him? What do you mean?"

"Apparently he's gay, or at least curious, and she spent the whole weekend finding proof which she then displayed for the whole school to see." His eyes widen and his mouth hangs open in shock once I'm finished recounting the whole ordeal, and then he closes his eyes and breathes out heavily through his nose.

"It's always the ones who are quick to throw around the hateful words," he mutters as he shakes his head in disgust. "What did he do? Is your sister okay?"

"She's rather proud of herself," I mutter with a roll of my eyes and he gives me a deadpan look, telling me with his expression that that isn't what he meant. "Yes, she's fine. They got into a bit of a verbal altercation in the hallway, then he left and I didn't see him for the rest of the day; I'm assuming he went home." He nods and runs a hand over his face with a long, drawn out sigh before standing up.

"Alright. Your pop should be home around six, and dinner will be ready by seven. Holler if you need anything." I nod and give him a small smile which he returns before he leaves me to finish off my school work.

After I finish, I open up my laptop and navigate to the writing competition website where it goes into further depth about the rules and requirements of entering. The deadline is at the end of October, so that means I have a little less than two months to complete my initial submission.

With a deep breath, I open up a notebook to a blank page and grab one of my pens. I stare down at the blank paper, my mind whirling with ideas and potential plots as I try to decide exactly what to write about. I quickly jot down a bunch of different ideas, then wander downstairs to Dad's studio where he's working on a new piece.

"Hey, Dad?" He turns his head, then smiles and puts his brush down as he turns his whole body to face me.

"What's up?"

"Can you help me with something?" He nods and wipes his hands on a rag while he waits for me to continue. "There's this writing competition that I want to enter, but I'm having a hard time deciding on what I should write. I have a bunch of different ideas of things I want to do, but I can't decide which one will be the best option."

I go on to tell him all about the competition, my eyes practically glowing as I get into the prize details, and Dad's entire being is radiating pride and joy for me. I hand over my notebook once I'm done talking his ear off, and sit down in the armchair he has tucked in the corner of the room for when Pop comes in here to read while he works.

"These are all amazing ideas, Dalton. I hope one day you venture into each and every one of them, but for this particular circumstance, I think you should do this one," he says once he's spent a few minutes reading over what I had jotted down. I jump out of my seat and walk over to him, glancing down at the one he's pointing at. I smile at him and nod as I take the book back from him, hugging it to my chest.

"I think so, too." He grins and musses my hair, laughing when I try to dodge him with a glare.

"I look forward to reading it. Let me know if you need a proof reader."